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HEALTH & SCIENCEFragmented system blocks mental health treatmentAdvocates await a presidential commission's solutions to problems that besiege the delivery of the nation's mental care.By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Nov. 25, 2002. Washington -- The nation's mental health system is an inefficient maze of programs that hinders rather than helps people with mental illness and those who treat them, concludes a preliminary report released Nov. 1 by a presidential commission. And that conclusion is right on target, say many advocates. The commission's task now is to recommend to the president by next spring policy changes that address those many problems and offer recommendations. "Today, people diagnosed with cancer or heart disease benefit from a broad array of effective treatments. People with mental illness deserve no less," said Michael F. Hogan, PhD, chair of the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. President Bush established the commission as a part of his initiative to eliminate inequality for Americans with disabilities. The interim report was praised as an important first step by the National Mental Health Assn. "People with mental health problems are unable to simply focus on their own needs and recovery," said Michael M. Faenza, president and CEO of the association. "Instead they have to navigate -- and often battle -- a system that presents obstacles and barriers at almost every turn," he said. The problems have become even more severe during the past year, said Faenza, as state and local governments struggle with budget shortfalls and debate cuts in mental health services to address those shortfalls. The mental health system even defies easy description, said the report. It includes programs that deliver or pay for treatment and services as well as a variety of treatment settings that include hospitals, community clinics, private offices or schools. [...] Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2002 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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